4 dead following chase and crash in Butts County, authorities say

BUTTS COUNTY, Ga. — Four people are dead and three others are seriously injured after a police chase ended with a head-on collision in Butts County.

The chase started along Interstate 75 in Monroe County when an officer attempted to pull over a Chevrolet Impala heading northbound.

The car then sped away, leading police on a chase.

Sgt. Shaun Browder, with the Georgia State Patrol, said the car got off the interstate at Exit 201 in Butts County, which is Highway 36.

Browder said the car went off the shoulder of the road near Nathan Thaxton Road, overcorrected and then hit a pickup truck head-on.

Four people were killed in crash -- including two innocent people -- and three others had to be airlifted to a nearby hospitals.

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Browder said the survivors were all in serious condition.

Arsenio Watts told Channel 2's Michael Seiden that he witnessed part of the chase.

"I saw a car just speeding, and I thought maybe they were in a rush to get somewhere, not knowing he was being chased by police," Watts said.

Watts said his heart broke when he learned four people had been killed in the wreck.

"That's horrible. All you had to do is just stop. It couldn't have been that serious," Watts said.

“It’s sad. Super sad,” Browder said. “We’ve got two innocent people who died for something silly.”

GSP has cleared the scene of the wreck. Troopers said the driver who caused the wreck is one of the three people who survived.

Authorities have not released the names of the victims.

Cox Media Group